PROFITS FROM DUCKS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20111, 23 November 1928, Page 19

PROFITS FROM DUCKS.

HINTS AND WARNINGS.

LESSONS OF EXPERIENCE.

OUTLAY AND RETURNS. TIV UTILITY. A big question is opened up by " Old Reader," who has been told that a man can make £BOO a year off 500 ducks. Before going in for them, however, he seeks a littlo information as to the cost of feeding, tho average number of eggs laid in a year, and tho avcrago price. These questions cannot bo answered with accuracy, becauso thero aro very few people in New Zealand who havo kept ducks in sufficient numbers to make useful the, data obtained from their expdrienco. In Holland and tho United States thero aro largo duck farms profitably conducted, but in their caso they arc so near the consuming markets that they can sell thousands of tcn-woeks-old ducks at good prices. Therefore, they do not depend on egg-production alone, tho principal source of income to a duck farmer in New Zealand. Tho experience over hens ought to givo a good guide as to tho position in regard to farming ducks. Thero aro three classes' of men who can get a goud profit from hens. Thero are, first, thoso who keep such a number that tho bulk of their food costs nothing, such as tho householder, who can almost keep a dozen on table scraps and garden refuse, or the farmer, who can give a much larger number tho run of an orchard or paddock. At the other extreme is tho commercial poultry farmer, who has learned from experience in a smaller way the method by which ho can keep GOO or 1000 at a good profit. In tho middle aro tho experts, who liavff worked up such a good strain of their favourito breed that they can sell eggs and birds at fancy prices. Warning Against Rash Venture.

All beginners must includo themselves in tho first class, for, until they learn from actual experience how to keep a small number and gradually increase that number when they obtain tho necessary knowledge, it is utterly useless to think of keeping 500, for tho experiment would only end in disaster. No less an authority than Mr. F. C. Brown, tho chief poultry instructor fur New Zealand, who has seen the success and failuro of hundreds of poultry farms, holds out an emphatic warning against Venturing in a large way before thoroughly mastering tho rudiments of tho business, lie says ho often receives letters from people who admit that they arc not strong, that they know nothing about it, that they have €2OO or less, and that they think poultry farming would suit them. To such his invariable answer is " Don't."

In tho seven years the average eggs per bird has risen from 192 to 215, th<s cost of food has ranged from 14s 6d to 19s lid, tho average price obtained for tho eggs has ranged from Is 5Ad to 2s o£d, and tho gross profit per bird from 7s 6d to 16s lOd. Tho ducks havo laid about 10 per cent, more eggs than tho pullets, but this advantago is taken away by tho lower price usually obtained for duck eggs.

Variation in Conditions.

These figures would all have to bo modified to meet the case of a private person, owing to nearly all the conditions being different. The egg yield would bo less, for no flock would averago the same as at M°unt Albert, where there ore congregated the very pick of a hundred flocks. Also, tho average price would be less, for egKS have ruled this vear at about twopence to nine-pence less t_.nn last year, and in the South Island, where " Old Reader" is thinking of starting, the price is usually less still. Against this may be set tho lower cost of food, for no private farmer would feed at such an expensive cost as at the competitions, being usually well able to grow larger quantities of green stuff, while grain is also always cheaper in the South Island. Another important point is that on a private farm the young birds begin to lay at any irregular time, from January to June, whereas, at a competition, tho apparent annual average is substantially lifted by selecting from a largo number the few that are just on the point of commencing to lay. When a man asks what rirca of land ho requires, and what breed he should keep, it is clear evidence that ho has not yet reached tho stage when ho is really interested in the area required," for at first an ordinary allotment is quite enough for him to commence, to gain his experience. When lie gets a littlo further lie can obtain very useful plans and suggestions from the Poultry Division of the Department of Agriculture. The Most Useful Breeds. As for what breed to keep, the battlo of tho breeds is an issue just as difficult to solve in ducks as in fowls, where it seems to depend just as much on strain as on breed. It may be said, however, that thero aro only three breeds in which a heavy egg-laying strain is obtainable: Fawn Indian Runners, White Indian Runners and Khaki Campbells. Latterly, the ono-timo popular Fawns havo been beaten by both tho other breeds, but it is probably largely a matter of strain, and anyono proposing to enter the business would be wiso to select a man who has a proved good strain, rather than birds from any fancied breed.

Another correspondent has tvvelvo good layers, Black Orpingtons and Whito Leghorns, and they nro losing a lot of feathers. This need not cause much anxiety, unless it is due to vermin in tho head, which must bo exterminated before the hot weather sets in. Tho outsido run is very damp, especially in rainy weather, and this is quite enough to weaken their stamina. Unless a run is fairly dry it is better not to let Ihe hens out at ail in wet weather provided (lie house is well ventilated, has the northern side sufficiently open to allow plenty of sunshine, to enter, has a good earth door for a dust-bath, and is kept clean. The present is a good time to dig over the outsido run. Leavo it rough, and dig it up periodically during tho summer also.